A new public-private partnership may bring the clinical trial of a dialysis device to the Manchester VA.
The device, the CVS Kidney Care’s HemoCare Hemodialysis System developed by DEKA research in Manchester, would allow dialysis patients to complete the process at home.
Deborah Scher leads the VA Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnerships. She says the Manchester VA’s Community Living Center is a great location for the study because its residents have access to doctors when they need them.
“One out of seven Americans has chronic kidney issues and many of them experience dialysis. If we can bring it into the home, then it’s a much more patient-centered experience,” Scher says.
The clinical trial may come as part of the the VA New England Center for Innovation Excellence, which is designed to “the opportunity for public-private partnerships to transform care and service for our nation’s veterans,” according to a VA statement.
The device still needs FDA approval before a study in Manchester could begin. A few years ago the VA partnered with DEKA to offer a prosthetic arm to qualified veterans.
